Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the field of component assembly and, more particularly, to a fastener installation tool and to methods of use.
The area of component assembly requires a wide variety of fasteners to secure components to each other and to higher levels of organization, such as circuit boards, sub-assemblies, assemblies, electronic and electrical chassis, appliances, vehicles, containers, cabinets, and many other kinds of consumer, commercial, and military products. Fasteners used in association with the above equipment can be made of different types of materials, including plastic and metal. Such fasteners include rivets for securing one item to another. They also include spacers, risers, or standoffs for spacing one item from another.
In contemporary high production manufacturing environments, fasteners must be inserted at a high rate, either by human operators or by robots. Robot equipment is complex, requiring high start-up and maintenance costs, and it often necessitates extensive time-consuming installation of new equipment and/or re-tooling and modification whenever a different type of fastener or a different configuration of fasteners is needed. Human operated equipment is regulated by federal, state, and local laws and regulations, and it must be safe and ergonomic for human use in addition to being easy to use, reliable, inexpensive to purchase and operate, and efficient.
Various types of tools for inserting fasteners are known, including tools that are pneumatically, hydraulically, and/or electrically operated. However, many of these tools are not safe and ergonomic, in that they are bulky, unwieldy, and produce substantial reactive kick-back to the hand(s) of a human operator, thus subjecting the operator to potential injury, including repetitive injury, resulting from stress to the hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, neck, and back. Such injuries can result in sick time, lost work days, employee dissatisfaction, disability payments, litigation, and governmental sanctions.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a significant need in the art for a fastener installation tool that is light-weight, that produces little if any kick-back to a human operator, and that is inexpensive and easy to operate. There is also a need for methods of operating such a fastener installation tool.